Honey Creek Corporate Center Building Sold at Sheriff’s Auction
New corporate headquarters couldn't save building from foreclosure.
Honey Creek Corporate Center III. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
A highly visible office building on Milwaukee’s far west side has changed hands in a sheriff’s sale.
The move comes even after the building, in 2023, landed a new corporate headquarters as a marquee tenant.
Visible from Interstate 94, the four-story building at 135 S. 84th St. is one of four buildings in the Honey Creek Corporate Center complex.
Wisconsin real estate transfer records posted Sept. 26 indicate the property was acquired by loan servicer Rialto Capital for a value of $8.5 million, ending a $10.4 million foreclosure suit.
Last November, a foreclosure suit was filed by Rialto on behalf of loan trustee Wilmington National Trust Association. Wilmington oversees a commercial mortgage-backed security, a pool of commercial mortgages syndicated to investors, known as COMM 2014-UBS5.
The property was owned by Honey Creek Corp Center III, LLC. State business records indicate the limited liability company was affiliated with Greywolf Partners.
Built in 2000, the building has 160,657 square feet of space according to city assessment records. Other public data sources peg office space total closer to 130,000 square feet.
Mayville Engineering Company moved its corporate headquarters to the building in early 2024 and said it was part of a talent attraction strategy. The company filled 14,700 square feet of office space previously used by Komatsu Mining, which consolidated its operations at its new South Harbor Campus complex.
Other tenants in the building, according to occupancy permits, at the time of Mayville’s move in included Time of Grace, Compassus, Kforce, HALO Branded Solutions, New York Life Insurance Company and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. CH2M Hill was previously a tenant in the building.
The property, following a national trend of difficulties in the office market, saw its value decline. Analysts with ratings agency KBRA think the building has a liquidation value of only $6.2 million currently, far below its $14 million assessed value and the $17.5 million appraisal it received at the time of the loan’s issuance.
A June analysis by KBRA indicates the building’s problems started before the COVID-19 pandemic. “The loan transferred to the special servicer in February 2019 due to the borrower’s initial failure to comply with cash management after major tenants went dark and failed to renew at lease expiration,” says the analysis.
In February, credit rating agency Morningstar downgraded several credit ratings associated with the investment pool, but didn’t single out the Milwaukee property as one of particular concern.
Greywolf, according to state business records, was legally dissolved earlier this year. Its website was also pulled down. Other buildings in the complex remain owned by limited liability companies affiliated with Greywolf. State court records do not indicate any other foreclosure suits have been initiated.
2023 Photos
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